Simple, delicious and refreshing -- my Shandong Chicken recipe, served with a sweet and tangy savory sauce, is the perfect addition to your meal on a hot day! With my simplified version, you can easily make this classic dish at home.
Shandong chicken (山東燒雞) is something I make quite often during summer. Steaming chicken with aromatic ingredients, and then making the dressing using the chicken broth collected from steaming makes this dish extra flavorful. Smashed cucumber provides a refreshing and crunchy element that makes this dish well balanced and appetizing!
This dish is adapted from a famous Taiwanese chef Fu Pei-Mei's recipe (you can watch her original cooking video here), who's also known as the Julia Child of Chinese Cooking. She's the first to host a cooking show in Taiwan in the early 60s. When she made this dish, she used half of a whole chicken; however, for the sake of convenience, I simplified the recipe by using just chicken legs.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- It's a simplified version of classic recipe that you can easily make at home.
- It's delicious and very appetizing -- great for summer!
- You can make it beforehand so it's great for meal prep or when you need to cook multiple dishes for a dinner party.
Ingredients You'll Need
notes
- Whole chicken leg - you can also replace this with bone-in chicken thigh, drumstick or bone in breast if you prefer.
- Sichuan peppercorn - this provides a nice aroma without, in this dish, imparting the numbing feeling that sometimes comes with using this ingredient. It's one of the key ingredients of this recipe so don't skip it!
- Cucumber - I like to use mini cucumbers for this, you can also use an English cucumber if you can't find it.
- Black vinegar - this provides a hint of aroma and it's not as tangy as rice vinegar, if you don't have it just skip it.
Step by Step Instruction
Step 1 - Marinate chicken with soy sauce for 30 minutes.
This step is mainly for getting color on the chicken to mimic the result of braising chicken.
Step 2 - Pan fry the chicken in a skillet for a few minutes each side until golden brown.
Step 3 - Steam the chicken with the aromatic ingredients.
Place the chicken in a dish/tray skin side down, top with Sichuan peppercorn, ginger, scallion and cooking wine. Steam for 30-40 minutes over medium heat or until it's cooked through.
Step 4 - While waiting for chicken to cool down, prepare cucumber and the dressing.
Trim the two ends of the cucumbers before cutting into 2" sections. Gently smash each section with the flat side of your knife just to break them open. Cut each section in half lengthwise and place them on a serving plate.
Drain the broth from steaming the chicken and get 4 tablespoon of the broth. In a small bowl mix the broth with soy sauce, rice vinegar, black vinegar, sugar, minced garlic and sesame oil. Drizzle a bit over the cucumber.
Step 5 - Assemble the dish.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard Sichuan peppercorn, ginger and scallion, break pieces of chicken off from the bone and place it on top of the cucumber. Top with scallion slices and drizzle with the dressing.
You can serve this dish right away, but I like to let it chill in the fridge for about half an hour before serving if I have time.
Shandong chicken is also a popular dish to serve as a appetizer for a Chinese New Year gathering or any dinner party, as it helps to open up your appetite so you can enjoy the rest of the feast.
If you like this recipe, don't forget to check out my other chicken recipes like Taiwanese chicken rice, Instant Pot three cup chicken and Chinese chicken and potato stew.
Tips and Tricks
- When steaming chicken, place it in a tray that's deep enough to hold the broth from steaming chicken (it usually produces around 5-6 tablespoon of broth).
- Try the dressing first and adjust it based on your taste before using.
- When breaking off pieces of the chicken, don't make the pieces too thin, they should be slightly thicker than the cucumber pieces.
- Other than sliced scallion, you can also add chopped cilantro or chili oil as topping to make the dish more flavorful.
- If you plan on serving it the next day, I would recommend that you steamed the chicken, make the sauce the day before, and prepare the cucumbers and assemble the dish a few hours or right before serving.
- Another great way to enjoy this dish is by adding some wheat noodles and enjoying it as a cold noodle dish.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, I personally like bone-in skin-on chicken thigh or drumstick as alternatives to whole legs, but you can also use bone in skin on chicken breast if you prefer.
No, because we need the broth from steaming to make the dressing.
Sichuan peppercorn here only provides the aroma, you won't get any of the numbing effect from it here. Even my 2 year old can eat this without any issue. Just make sure you discard all the peppercorn on the chicken so you won't accidently bite into one!
I hope you will enjoy this dish. Happy cooking!
I would like to hear from you! If you make this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and comment in the section further down the page. Stay in touch by following my Instagram and Pinterest!
Don't Forget to Try
Shandong Chicken (Chinese Chicken and Cucumber Cold Dish)
Ingredients
Steamed Chicken
- 1.5 lb whole chicken leg, or bone-in chicken thigh, drumstick or bone-in (split) breast
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 teaspoon rice cooking wine (mijiu), or Shoaxing wine
- 3 slice ginger
- 1 scallion , cut into 2" (5 cm) sections
Dressing
- 4 tbsp broth from steaming chicken
- 1 clove garlic, minced, or more to taste
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon black vinegar, optional
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Other
- 6 mini cucumber, or 1 English cucumber
- thinly sliced scallion
- chopped cilantro , optional
- chili oil, optional
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken
- Coat both sides of the chicken with soy sauce before placing it skin side down and marinating for 30 minutes. This step is mainly for getting color on the chicken to mimic the result of braising chicken. You can do this a few hours ahead or overnight.
- Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until the oil is hot, pat dry the chicken before placing the chicken in the skillet with the skin side down. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the skin becomes golden brown. Flip the chicken and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer chicken into a dish or tray with skin side down, top with Sichuan peppercorn, rice cooking wine, ginger, scallion and steam for 30-35 minutes over medium heat or until it's cooked through.
Prepare Cucumber and Dressing
- Trim the two ends of the cucumbers before cutting into 2" (5 cm) sections. Gently smash each section with the flat side of your knife just to break them open. Cut each section in half lengthwise and place them on a serving plate.
- Drain the broth from steaming the chicken and set aside 4 tablespoon of the broth. In a small bowl mix the broth with soy sauce, rice vinegar, black vinegar, sugar, minced garlic and sesame oil. Drizzle a bit over the cucumber.
Assemble the Dish
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard Sichuan peppercorn, ginger and scallion, break pieces of chicken off from the bone and place it on top of the cucumber. Top with scallion slices (and other optional toppings if using) and drizzle with the dressing.
- You can serve this dish right away or let it chill in the fridge for about half an hour before serving.
Notes
- When steaming chicken, place it in a dish or tray that's deep enough to hold the broth from steaming chicken (it usually produces around 5-6 tablespoon of broth).
- Try the dressing first and adjust it based on your taste before using.
- When breaking off pieces of the chicken, don't make the pieces too thin, they should be slightly thicker than the cucumber pieces.
- If you plan on serving it the next day, I would recommend that you steam the chicken and make the sauce the day before, and prepare the cucumbers and assemble the dish a few hours or right before serving.
- Another great way to enjoy this dish is by adding some wheat noodles and enjoying it as a cold noodle dish.
I just made this for my boyfriend and I and we loved it!! Definitely something I will keep making again. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Jessica! I'm happy to hear you and your boyfriend enjoyed this dish 😀
Hi! Can I try steaming the chicken in a Tatung pot? If so, what are your recommendations for that? Thank you and can't wait to try this recipe!
Of course! You can try adding 1.5 cups of water and steam until the switch pop up, wait for 5 minutes and then check if the chicken is cooked through.